FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We have been asked many questions over the years! We hope that we have answered all of the questions you may have regarding Frozen British Pensions. If not, please contact us, or complete the form to your right, and we will try to answer whatever question you may have….
WHAT IS THE CANADIAN ALLIANCE OF BRITISH PENSIONERS?
We are a non profit, volunteer based organisation. Our objectives are twofold.
1. We offer our members assistance, support and information, to help them understand and claim the U.K. State pension they are entitled to, and for which they paid when they worked in the UK.
2. We act as a lobby and pressure group to persuade the UK government to stop the discriminatory practice of freezing pensions based on where you live in retirement.
This animated video explains the situation very well.
WHAT IS A FROZEN STATE PENSION?
The pension you receive at state retirement age remains at that same amount for the duration of your retirement, whether it be 10, 20, 30 years or more. There is no annual increase EVER!.
HOW MANY PENSIONERS ARE AFFECTED?
As at August 2020, there were 12,418,151 million UK pensioners in total of whom 11,260,015 million live in the UK and 1,131,143 million live abroad. Of those living abroad, 492,176 have their pensions frozen, but the remaining 651,321 receive increases just as if they lived in the UK.
IN WHICH 'FROZEN' COUNTRIES DO UK PENSIONERS LIVE?
The table below shows the top 5 ‘frozen’ countries and the number of UK pensioners living in each country. In addition, the average weekly UK state pension received by pensioners living in each of the countries is also shown:
| Country |
Number of Frozen Pensioners |
Average Amount Received (£pw) |
*********** |
| Australia | 223,234 | £49.64 | |
| Canada | 127,118 | £45.95 | |
| New Zealand | 64,054 | £46.00 | |
| South Africa | 30,651 | £56.25 | |
| Japan | 6,763 | £46.66 |
Here is an alphabetic list of Frozen Countries (those in bold have few or no UK pensioners living there):
Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Andorra; Angola; Anguilla; Antarctic Territories (British); Antigua; Antilles (Netherlands); Argentina; Ascension Island; Australia; Bahamas; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Barbuda; Belize; Benin; Bhutan; Bissau (Guinea); Bolivia; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei; Burkina Faso; Burma (Myanmar); Burundi; Cameroon; Canada; Cape Verde Islands; Cayman Islands; Central African Republic; Chad; Chile; China People’s Republic; Colombia; Comoro Islands; Cook Islands; Costa Rica; Cote D’Ivoire; Cuba; Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire); Djibouti; Dom Commonwealth (Dominica); Dominican Republic; Ecuador; Egypt; El Salvador; Equatorial Guinea; Ethiopia; Falkland Islands & Dep; Faroe Islands; Fiji; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Greenland; Grenada; Guatemala; Guinea; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Iran; Iraq; Japan; Jordan; Kampuchea; Kenya; Kiribati; Kuwait; Laos; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Macau; Malagasy Republic; Malawi; Malaysia; Maldive Islands; Mali; Mauritania; Mexico; Monaco; Mongolia; Montserrat; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Naura; Nepal; Nevis, St Kitts-Nevis; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Niger; Nigeria; Norfolk Island; North Korea; Oman; Pakistan; Panama; Papua New Guinea; Paraguay; Peru; Principe and Sao Tome; Qatar; Republic of Armenia; Republic of Azerbaijan; Republic of Belarus; Republic of Georgia; Republic of Kazakhstan; Republic of Kyrgyzstan; Republic of Moldova; Republic of Tajikistan; Republic of the Congo; Republic of Turkmenistan; Republic of Uzbekistan; Republic of Yemen; Russian Federation; Rwanda; Sabah; San Marino; Sarawak; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Seychelles; Sharjah; Sierra Leone; Singapore; Solomon Islands; Somalia; South Africa; South Korea; Sri Lanka; St Helena & Deps; St Lucia; St Vincents & Grenadines; Sudan; Surinam; Swaziland; Syria; Tahiti; Taiwan; Tanzania; Thailand; Togo; Tonga; Tours (Individuals on Tour); Trinidad & Tobago; Tristan Da Cunha; Tunisia; Turks & Caicos Islands; Tuvalu; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; Uruguay; Vanuatu; Vatican City State; Venezuela; Vietnam; Virgin Islands (British); Western Samoa; Zambia; Zimbabwe
IN WHICH 'UNFROZEN' COUNTRIES DO UK PENSIONERS LIVE?
The table below shows the top 5 ‘unfrozen’ countries (outside of the UK) and the number of UK pensioners living in each country. In addition, the average weekly UK state pension received by pensioners living in each of the countries is also shown:
| Country |
No. of Unfrozen Pensioners |
Average Amount Received (£pw) |
*********** |
| Republic of Ireland | 128,835 | £66.29 | |
| USA | 127,427 | £73.93 | |
| Spain | 103,437 | £120.15 | |
| France | 66,532 | £113.48 | |
| Germany | 42,292 | £46.20 |
Here is a list of Unfrozen countries (again, the countries in bold have few or no UK pensioners living there.:
Alderney; American Samoa; Austria; Barbados; Belgium; Bermuda; Bulgaria; Cyprus; Denmark; Finland; Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; France; French Overseas Departments; Germany; Gibraltar; Greece; Guam; Guernsey; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Jamaica; Jersey; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Malta; Mauritius; Netherlands; Norway; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Puerto Rico; Republic of Bosnia Hercegovina; Republic of Croatia; Republic of Estonia; Republic of Latvia; Republic of Lithuania; Republic of Slovenia; Romania; Sark; Spain; State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; Sweden; Switzerland; The Czech Republic; The Slovak Republic; Turkey; USA; Virgin Islands (USA)
HOW DO PENSIONERS IN COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES FARE UNDER THE FROZEN PENSION POLICY?
Top 5 Commonwealth countries that receive the annual increase:
As at the end of August 2020.
|
Commonwealth Country |
Number of
Pensioners |
Average weekly
State Pension (£) |
Average annual
State Pension (£) |
| Cyprus | 17,175 | £122.42 | £6,366 |
| Jamaica | 10,955 | £116.26 | £6,046 |
| Malta | 5,970 | £104.11 | £5,414 |
| Barbados | 3,890 | £117.02 | £6,085 |
| Mauritius | 1,005 | £107.85 | £5,608 |
| TOTAL | 38,995 | £116.98 | £6,083 |
Top 5 Commonwealth countries that don’t receive the annual increase:
|
Commonwealth Country
|
No of Pensioners |
Average Weekly State Pension (£) |
Average Annual State Pension (£) |
| Australia | 222, 239 | £50.09 | £2,604.28 |
| Canada | 126,426 | £46.34 | £2,409.68 |
| New Zealand | 63,930 | £46.44 | £2,414.88 |
| South Africa | 30,345 | £56.52 | £2,939.04 |
| India | 4,261 | £50.10 | £2,605.20 |
| TOTAL: | 447,301 | £48.94 | £2,345.13 |
The Commonwealth Charter, signed by the Queen in 2013, states that:
We are implacably opposed to all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, colour, creed, political belief or other grounds.”
HOW DID IT COME ABOUT?
The History of the State Pension can be traced back to 1920. In the early days of the contributory pension scheme in 1920 the state pension was paid only in the UK, but in 1925 it was extended to the Dominions to encourage emigration and settlement in those countries, a major part of the present Commonwealth.
HOW ARE PENSIONERS OF DIFFERENT AGES AFFECTED BY HAVING THEIR PENSIONS FROZEN?
Just looking at this chart you can see the impact of the the Frozen Pensions Policy changes every year. As each year passes, the loss felt by each pensioner is felt in two areas - the change in the exchange rate and the ever increasing pension loss. Click on this chart (which is based on the "old" state pension) and you will see that. So, if you retired on a "full" state pension 20 years ago, you will have received a state pension of £66.75 a week which was then frozen at that level. Today you would be getting £134.25 a week, and you will have received over £40,000 less than your peers in the UK.
BY USING THE CHART HOW MUCH HAVE YOU RECEIVED LESS THAN YOUR PEERS IN THE UK?
HOW HAS THE UK GOVERNMENT RESPONDED TO THE FROZEN PENSION ISSUE?
When in opposition, UK politicians are in favour of correcting the unfair and discriminatory policy, but change their minds on the issue when in government. The two reasons that are given are:
1. Cost
2. Bilateral Social Security agreements
COST
The UK Supreme Court ruled that cost alone cannot be used to justify the pension freezing. Pensioners are being discriminated against because of where they chose to retire. They are also concomitantly discriminated against on the basis of age, as is demonstrated in this chart.
BILATERAL SOCIAL SECURITY AGREEMENTS
The UK Government continues to discriminate, saying that social security bilateral agreements still need to take place, despite Freedom Of Information request number 595/2013 raised in 2013 where the DWP categorically said that bilateral agreements are not required in order to uprate our pensions:
Bi-lateral agreements are not necessary in order for pensions paid outside Great Britain and the EU to be up-rated. There are currently no plans to change the existing longstanding policy of successive governments on the uprating pensions overseas; this policy was upheld in a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights in 2010 which found in favour of the UK government”
HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO FIX?
In 2019, the UK government produced their own estimates of how much it would cost to uprate all of our Frozen Pensions. Given this, and the declining number of Frozen Pensioners, this works out to be £1,240 per frozen pensioner, per annum. This represents around 0.6% of the pensions budget. This chart shows the receipts and payments for the National Insurance Fund (NIF) over the years 2013/14 - 2024/25, with the latter years being forecasts provided by the Government Actuary Department (GAD).
The UK Government has to maintain a balance in the NIF that is equal to 16.67% of annual expenditure from the Fund. If the balance falls below this number then the Government provides a Grant to top it up. Any further excess sitting in the NIF represents monies that could be distributed, say, to Frozen Pensioners. This chart shows that the UK government could have been paying Frozen Pensioners since 2016.
CAN THE UK AFFORD IT?
Much has been made of this. The Pensions Minister used to use a number of £600 mn a year, but, clearly this number is no longer scary enough for the House of Commons, so the number that is quoted now is £3 bn over 5 years, which, of course comes back to £600 mn a year. What the Pensions Minister consistently fails to do is to present both sides of the story.
National Insurance contributions (NICs) flow into the National Insurance Fund (NIF), from which pension payments and certain other benefits are paid. Being a ‘pay as you go’ fund the National Audit Office requires that balance of the fund be not less than 16.67% of the annual benefit expenditure.
| National Insurance Fund Accounts
Year to 31st March 2020 |
2019-20
(£ mn) |
| Total Receipts |
£113,160,631 |
| Less: Benefit Payments | £106, 163,275 |
| Excess: Receipts over Payments | £ 6,996,256 |
| National Insurance Fund Account Balances |
2019-20 (£ mn) |
| Balance Brought Forward | £29,934,954 |
| Excess: Receipts over Payments (from above) | £ 6,996,256 |
| Excess Balance Carried Forward | £36,932,210 |
The UK Government has to maintain a balance in the NIF that is equal to 16.67% of annual expenditure from the Fund. If the balance falls below this number then the Government provides a Grant to top it up. Any further excess sitting in the NIF represents monies that could be distributed, say, to Frozen Pensioners. This chart shows that the UK government could have been paying Frozen Pensioners since 2016.
HOW MUCH DO PENSIONERS RETURNING TO THE UK COST THE COUNTRY?
A lot! We know how much each pensioner moving abroad ….
BREXIT AND THE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT OF PENSIONERS LIVING IN EU COUNTRIES?
Much has been made of this. The Pensions Minister used to use a number of £600 mn a year, but, clearly this number is no longer scary enough for the House of Commons, so the number that is quoted now is £3 bn over 5 years, which, of course comes back to £600 mn a year. What the Pensions Minister consistently fails to do is to present both sides of the story.
National Insurance contributions (NICs) flow into the National Insurance Fund (NIF), from which pension payments and certain other benefits are paid. Being a ‘pay as you go’ fund the National Audit Office requires that balance of the fund be not less than 16.67% of the annual benefit expenditure.
| National Insurance Fund Accounts
Year to 31st March 2020 |
2019-20
(£ mn) |
| Total Receipts |
£113,160,631 |
| Less: Benefit Payments | £106, 163,275 |
| Excess: Receipts over Payments | £ 6,996,256 |
| National Insurance Fund Account Balances |
2019-20 (£ mn) |
| Balance Brought Forward | £29,934,954 |
| Excess: Receipts over Payments (from above) | £ 6,996,256 |
| Excess Balance Carried Forward | £36,932,210 |
The UK Government has to maintain a balance in the NIF that is equal to 16.67% of annual expenditure from the Fund. If the balance falls below this number then the Government provides a Grant to top it up. Any further excess sitting in the NIF represents monies that could be distributed, say, to Frozen Pensioners. This chart shows that the UK government could have been paying Frozen Pensioners since 2016.
HOW DO YOU CONTACT THE INTERNATIONAL PENSION CENTRE?
To contact the International Pension Centre:
- Click on this link OR
- By phoning them on: +44 (0) 191 218 7777 OR
- By texting them on: +44 (0) 191 218 7280 OR
- Write to them at: The Pension Service 11 Mail Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1LW, United Kingdom OR
- By emailing them (via GOV.UK form) OR
- On Twitter
They are open Monday to Friday, 9.30am to 3.30pm (UK time)
CAN I TOP UP MY UK STATE PENSION?
If you have not yet reached UK state pension age, you can make voluntary contributions annually to purchase additional qualifying years, up to the point that you reach your pensionable age. You may also be able to buy back prior years. Both of these actions will increase the state pension amount you receive. We can help you with determining whether or not you can buy back years, so don’t delay, join the CABP today!
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE STATE PENSION WHEN SOMEONE DIES?
The Birmingham Mail set out the rules…
CAN YOU INHERIT THE UK STATE PENSION?
CAN I STILL VOTE IN THE UK?
Up until 2022, you could vote in the UK if you had registered with your last constituency in the UK AND you had emigrated within the last fifteen years.
In 2022, a policy paper entitled “Overseas electors: Delivering ‘votes for life’ for British expatriates” was put forward by the UK’s Conservative Government.
If you want to know which Elections you can vote in in the UK, click here ….
